Our issues began at house #5 with the 2 car garage - that's where I'm putting all the blame. It was there we purchased some sturdy garage shelves from Costco, which gave us the illusion of being in control. We put stuff in boxes and bins, with labels like Garage Stuff, Stuff to Sort, Icky Stuff. We stacked, we piled, we crammed, we hid, we did what people do to make it possible to park the car in the garage and feel like civilized members of society. It stayed like that through the next few moves, until I decided no more: the charade is over, we have too much stuff, and having to wear a helmet in one's own garage as a protection from falling debris is no way to live.

We already had one garage sale this spring, for all the stuff we purged by applying The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up to our living quarters. It was time to use the same method in our garage full of camping stuff, car stuff, tool-type stuff, sports stuff and all the other grimy categories in that Scary Place Where the Car is Parked.

But where to start? Nothing looked fun. Or easy. Or lightweight. It was all covered with dryer lint and/or grease. It was all heavy or bulky or ugly or all of the above, which was why it was in the garage in the first place. The garage was hot, I was discouraged, we had company and it was a really bad time to start a garage purge. But really, is there ever a good time to start a garage purge? Now I know the answer to that question is YES. And that would be when you don't have guests. When the temperature is below 70 degrees. When you're able to go for a few days not resembling a human being.

But since I was chomping at the drill bit to get started, Ernst suggested I gather all the screwdrivers together so he could sort through them and see which ones "sparked joy" for him. And this is what happened.

I ever so nicely gathered our screwdrivers and laid them out in a beautiful array on the back patio and allowed my wonderful husband of 24 years to go through them without any pressure whatsoever to get rid of any of them while I sat inside and admired my gorgeous manicure.

OR

I found what seemed like hundreds of screwdrivers, all over the place, everywhere I looked, all types, all kinds, all sorts, shapes, sizes, colors, ends, handles and lengths and I thought I would scream if I found another screwdriver and then I would find ten more and then I said I would flip out if I found another one and then I would find 15 more. I became the Shrew Driver. I was hot and bothered and grimy and mad and overwhelmed and once I was done I slammed them all down on the poor table on the back patio and made very clear we only have four hands between us, we are not octopuses running a busy auto repair shop and WE DON'T NEED ALL THESE BLASTED SCREWDRIVERS! Ernst kept the ones that sparked joy. He decided to keep me too, which is a miracle.

After we got that category out of our system, the garage purge went well.

Flat heads that the hot head collected. The other tips were in other boxes.

Is a pair of pliers just a wrench with an attitude?

The David and Goliath of the wrench world.

We hammered out the hammer situation.

Sockets in Metric and Stupid sizes. In square and hexagonal. That's a lot of sockets.

We had a bit of bits.

And a bit more bits.

After keeping to the category method, it became clear we needed to just clear off those sturdy Costco shelves and get serious about this garage purge. It was time to pull every last grimy thing out of our garage onto the back patio and go through it all, item by item. Why the back patio? Because the driveway by this time was about 115 degrees, and we do have a shred of dignity to preserve. The back patio gave us the luxury of shade and the opportunity to do this right, once and for all time. When it was really hot, I put a painting tarp down inside, brought in the tool boxes and sorted every last screw, nut and bolt we owned. My hands were covered in grime, every joint in my body ached and I was so incredibly happy to finally get this done.

Ugh. Ugh. Triple digit Ugh.

I believe I unearthed the microphone used by FDR in his fireside chats.

What's s a blog post about a garage purge without some Before and After photos?

Before. The Scary Corner of Doom and Despair

After. Canning, Camping and Wine Making stuff. JOY!

Before. Boxes of stuff, that's my best guess.

After. Camping and Car Stuff. And empty space. Yipee!

Before. There may possibly be a shelf under there, but I'm not sure.

After. Painting supplies in the cupboards and I think that empty spot is called a work bench.

We have one more category to go through, the stuff left from doing 30 years of volunteer sound installation for RBC. Then the garage is done! It is currently full of stuff for our second garage sale of the season. There will be a few screwdrivers for sale, but I can't imagine why.

Ask a Master Gardener from UC Davis Extension what to do about your Mexican Feather Grass

Try to not jump up and down like a crazy woman when you see your plum jelly got second prize in the fruit jelly division

That's right, we spent Tuesday afternoon and evening at the California State Fair. I love the fair. I love the charming counties exhibits, because it reminds me of being there with my parents. In fact, the older I get, the more I love the counties exhibits and wished I hadn't whined so much as a kid when my Dad wanted to linger at them. I feel such a strong connection to my Mom and Dad there, they were confirmed fair goers just as we are. I love walking the grounds they walked together, knowing how much they enjoyed each other's company.

I love the clashing colors and the smells and the tired kids and the happy kids and the smelly animals and the tired parents hauling around giant stuffed animals they won for their tired kids. What was my favorite part of this year's fair? Hmm, let's see, what could it be? The sticky cotton candy? Nope, hate the stuff. Bacon covered chocolate churros? Ugh! My favorite moment was seeing that second place ribbon on my plum jelly in that vast array of canned goods. Their judging policy is quite loose, like a soccer team that gives you a trophy for just showing up. If your jam was incredible, you got first place. Super yummy, second. Great, third. If it had bubbles and was cloudy, you got diddly-squat. I know Ernst was very happy I didn't get third or diddly-squat. It was his idea to enter my jelly, he did all the paperwork and dropped it off. If he had had to walk around the fair with a whiny wife who didn't get a good prize, he would only have himself to blame.

We didn't get the pork chop on a stick...

...or the deep fried cheese curds...

...we got the watermelon and the fruit, which you really have to search for.

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Summer came late, and for that we are grateful. Like a fashionably tardy guest, it gave us some breathing room before it became too hot to breathe. But summer is here for reals now. No more messing around, we've had a few scorchers. What to do when the temps go up? Here are just a few survival strategies.

Sit on the front porch, drink a beer and sort out your rags. It will make the neighbors feel so much better about their own lives.

Decide you probably won't ever need another rag in your life. Ever.

Live on salads. There is no heat involved, and very little thinking.

Roll in the dirt, it has a cooling effect.

See above.

Make smoothie bowls. Plunk your face in until you feel better.

Make plum wine. See above.

Crank up the AC, make a quilt and pretend it's December.

Go horseback riding on the beach. Thank the horse, of course.

Go to Lake Tahoe. In skirts. And have a rock throwing contest. In skirts.

When you're in a pickle or a jam, make some jelly.

Put your feet up really high, they're tired of feeling stepped on.

Organize your tee shirts. Fold them the Duh Way.

Dish towels. The Duh Way.

Then wash them and let them dry in a Sacramento Summer Second.

Revamp your printer area.

Realize you probably don't need so much paper in your life.

Find a nice cool place to lie down. Dream of rain. Autumn will be here soon.

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about me

After starting a rag quilt shop on Etsy called squared up, I added a blog called All Squared Up. You know, to increase sales. With the blog, I discovered the joy of writing, and it transformed into writing for other websites and blogs as a source of income. Now I make way more money writing than I do sewing quilts, plus there is less fuzz around the house. The quilts are still coming though, just not quite at the same pace. Stick around and read about them, our dog, our adventures learning Romanian, our quest to eat only plants and the odds and ends of our life in Northern California.